Recommendations from Growth Teams (DK0042)

The Government has set up eight growth teams which, in close dialogue with the business community, are to carry out an examination of growth conditions in business areas where Danish companies have international competitive power. The objective is to identify specific measures that can improve the companies’ productivity and development opportunities for the purpose of contributing to growth and employment in Denmark. Against the background of recommendations from the various growth teams, the Government will present specific initiatives for how the recommendations can be implemented. The business community and stakeholders will be involved in the process on an ongoing basis and will also be permanent sparring partners when the Government’s growth plans are to be carried out. In addition, the business community has actively assumed responsibility for implementing specific growth plan initiatives.

Commitment 9. Recommendations from growth teams

Commitment Text:

The Government has set up eight growth teams which, in close dialogue with the business community, are to carry out an examination of growth conditions in business areas where Danish companies have international competitive power. The objective is to identify specific measures that can improve the companies’ productivity and development opportunities for the purpose of contributing to growth and employment in Denmark.

Against the background of recommendations from the various growth teams, the Government will present specific initiatives for how the recommendations can be implemented. The business community and stakeholders will be involved in the process on an ongoing basis and will also be permanent sparring partners when the Government’s growth plans are to be carried out. In addition, the business community has actively assumed responsibility for implementing specific growth plan initiatives.

Responsible institution: None specified

Supporting institution(s): The business community

Start date:  Not specified             End date: Not specified

Commitment Aim:

Commitment 9 feeds into Denmark’s overall Growth Plan aimed at strengthening the country’s business environment and attracting international investments to decrease unemployment and improve living standards. The growth teams predate the second action plan and have been a part of Denmark’s innovation strategy since 2012.

The growth teams are composed of different stakeholders from public administration, the private sector, various associations and academia. The growth team on ICT and digital growth, for instance is composed of board members and CEOs of major companies as well as of renowned think tank figures.^{[Note 32: Growth teams for ICT and digital growth, Danish Business Authority, https://erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/vaekstteam-ikt-og-digital-vaekst]}

Status

Mid-term: Complete

This commitment was fully implemented by the mid-term progress report.

The last of the eight growth teams concluded its work in 2014. Recommendations from these teams were incorporated into individual growth plans.^{[Note 33: Growth plan Denmark – strong businesses more jobs, Ministry of Finance, http://www.fm.dk/publikationer/2013/vaekstplan-dk-staerke-virksomheder-flere-job/]} In 2014, the government released an “Agreement on Growth Package 2014,” which constitutes the follow-up on the growth teams’ recommendations as well as those of a productivity commission - it aims to reduce the cost of doing business and boost productivity in Denmark.^{[Note 34: Page 11, Report on Growth and Competitiveness 2014, The Danish Government, https://www.evm.dk/english/~/media/files/2014/14-10-10-report-on-growth.ashx]} This was the second Danish growth plan^{[Note 35: Danish Government presents new growth plan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.investindk.com/News-and-events/News/2014/Danish-Government-Presents-New-Growth-Plan]}- the third had been released by the time of writing.^{[Note 36: Growth and Development in Denmark, Danish Business Authority, http://evm.dk/publikationer/2015/15-11-23-vaekst-og-udvikling-i-hele-danmark]} For further information, please see the IRM mid-term progress report.^{[Note 37: Denmark IRM mid-term report 2014-15, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Denmark_IRM%20Progress%20Report%202014-15_Final_eng.pdf]}

Did it open government?

Access to information: Did not change

Civic Participation: Did not change

Public Accountability: Did not change

As this commitment does not pertain to any OGP values, no relevance coding has been performed for the “did it open government” question. However, several recommendations from the growth teams were incorporated into new growth plans, which did result in policy changes.

To gain OGP value relevance, the commitment would have to be redrafted to include focus areas such as combating corruption – it would also need to have a specific public-facing mechanism.

Carried forward?

As noted in the IRM progress report, the IRM researcher believes the government could use the growth teams concept as a new model for public engagement in policy making. New growth teams could:

•       be organized around policy areas beyond business development, such as open data, freedom of information, transparency in local government, welfare, political party financing, etc.

•       involve different stakeholders including, but not limited to, government officials, civil society organizations, and academics depending on the policy area

•       produce reports with recommendations discussed formally by government officials and incorporated into government strategy

•       develop clear guidelines explaining what mechanism or intervention would translate the growth teams’ information into consequences or change